THE Greens stormed to victory in the Bristol City Council local elections but fell agonisingly short of an overall majority.
The party ended with 34 councillors, two shy of the magic figure of 36 required to be bigger than all the other groups combined.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats made gains over the Conservatives, but Labour, ended with a net loss of two councillors, leaving them on 21.
The Greens gained an extra 10 seats. The Lib Dems have eight members in the chamber, an increase of three, while the Tories lost half of their 14 seats and now have just seven.
The results indicate the Greens have a strong chance of winning the Bristol Central MP seat in the upcoming general election.
Carla Denyer, co-leader of the national party who has stood down as a Bristol councillor, is the parliamentary candidate trying to beat Labour and become the second Green MP.
She said all councillors in every ward within the constituency were now Greens, with Labour losing out.
Labour group leader Cllr Tom Renhard said the party had some good results, including ousting a Conservative in Frome Vale.
Clifton
Turnout: 39%
Paula O’Rourke, Green: 2,126
Jerome Thomas, Green: 1,849
Elena Dirik, Labour: 872
Dan McTiernan, Labour: 655
Daniel Bond, Conservative: 376
Alastair Hamilton, Conservative: 362
Ana Ribeiro, Liberal Democrats: 242
Neil Harvie, Liberal Democrats: 230
Clifton Down
Turnout: 41.36%
Serena Ralston, Green: 1,813
George Calascione, Green: 1,705
Tristan Harris, Labour: 903
Nick Smith, Labour: 803
Michael Abbott, Conservative: 294
Oscar Lucas, Conservative: 250
Elizabeth Badman, Lib Dems: 186
Merche Clark, Lib Dems: 166
Suzanne Muna, Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition: 78